![]() That’s not to say there aren’t some negatives at play. On a track where bombing and gouging might not be the worst strategy, I like it to be this week. is going to be afforded the same type of result. ![]() Whether it’s karma or the law of averages or just a week when he outplays everyone else, at some point Willy Z. We saw that from Finau this weekend, his good break not only coming in the form of that carom staying in play, but none of the other contenders being ready to pounce on the final few holes. Sometimes all it takes is some goodwill from the Golf Gods to claim such an elusive victory. Open, “I’d pay a lot of money for about an inch and a half, and I’d probably be a three-time major champion at this point.” He’s been inside the top-six on leaderboards more often during the last four months than he’s finished outside that number.Īs he said after the U.S. He owns three runner-up finishes in majors. Zalatoris is ranked 13th in the world ranking. Instead, I’ll save Cantlay for another category, but I won’t go too far down the board for my favorite outright. It would be nice and tidy if these last few paragraphs led seamlessly into me picking this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic favorite, Patrick Cantlay, but life and tournament previews don’t always work out that way. To use the previous two weeks as a comparison, you’d probably want Finau at the 3M more often than Rory McIlroy at a similar pre-tourney price at The Open championship, where he’ll face much stiffer competition. That might not mean there’s always more value in playing favorites at events with somewhat inferior fields, but it inherently favors those in these types of events. It’s more difficult to quantify whether more of these victories over the years occurred in “big” events or “smaller” ones, as such classification is purely subjective, though a quick perusal suggests that a larger number have taken place in the latter, very much like Finau’s victory at the 3M this past weekend. As it turns out, only two campaigns would have been profitable - 2012, when a half-dozen different favorites combined for nine titles and 2013, when Tiger Woods was responsible for five of the seven wins from the oddsmaker pole position. Open), I wrote a piece examining what would’ve happened if you’d have wagered one unit on every favorite during the entire season. He becomes just the third pre-tourney favorite to win a PGA TOUR event this season, joining Sam Burns at the Sanderson Farms Championship (tough one to remember there) and Jon Rahm at the Mexico Open (much easier) as the chalk cashes.Ī few years ago (prior to the 2019 U.S. He salvaged bogey and it’s a credit to the work he did in the preceding holes that he owned such a cushion to cruise to a closing bogey and the victory.Īs it turns out, with fewer than nine holes remaining in the final round, Finau was only about half the price in betting markets as his opening number, which had him as the betting favorite at right around +1100 in most books. ![]() His tee shot on the par-3 17th flew the green and caromed off a tower behind it, remaining in-play by mere feet as a water hazard loomed nearby.įinau made par from there, gave his ball a little kiss, then kissed it goodbye on the 18th tee, pushing his drive on the par-5 to the right and into the water. ![]() A player known more for his near-misses and close calls over the years, this would sound like the antithesis of a typical Finau finish without knowing the particulars.Īnyone who watched, though, understands it wasn’t so easy.Īfter charging hard with three straight birdies on holes 14 through 16 - and with some help from erstwhile leader Scott Piercy - Finau found himself in the lead, literally checking a leaderboard and seeing it for the first time on the 16th green. If you only heard the small details, it might’ve seemed like Tony Finau turned a corner at the 3M Open on Sunday afternoon, parlaying a five-stroke 54-hole deficit into a four-shot win, thanks to a final-round 67. Click arrow to expand 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic odds via WynnBet ![]()
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